Genetics and Immuno completely destroyed!

I destroyed both of the exams for Genetics and Immunology. Neuro and Physio is next. I think I got my groove back on. School is almost over. I'm already caught up with everything even though I had skipped some lectures to study for Genetics and Immuno.

Very angry, but motivated

I just received an email from SGU stating that they are "concerned" about my academic performance. Yes, I did bad in Parasitology (1-credit) and in Genetics (2-credits), but I got As in Neuroscience (8-credits) and Physiology (6-credits). Not to mention that I still have the Genetics final exam coming up and I can make up for my bad grade. Also I have yet to even take the midterm for Immunology (2-credits). Ethics (1-credit), last year, was my lowest grade too. It's no wonder they give the least interesting courses the fewest number of credits.

It was my fault that I did bad in Parasitology and Genetics, but I have corrected the mistake. The mistake was not studying in the library. I studied in the library all through 1st Term, and I started studying in my room again. I've realized that this makes a huge difference in efficiency.

Anyways, a little pissed about the email and I find it amazing that they are "concerned" that my cumulative GPA will not meet the 2.5 minimum, when I can still make a >3.7 cGPA throughout all terms, which in my opinion is pretty good.

Half-way through

It's been a long time since I posted. I'm done with all the midterms now for Neuro, Physio, Genetics, and Parasit. How were my grades? Parasit<Genetics<Neuro<Physio as expected, I got As in Neuro and Physio since they involve less memorizing and more thinking. Honestly though, I didn't study hard enough and I blame myself for procrastinating. I'm back to normal now, so hopefully it won't happen again.

The next big boss is going to be Immunology followed by CPM - an ethics related course (yikes!). I'm still hanging in there, I have to do better this term and I know I can do it!

First round of midterms over!

I haven't updated in a while due to being busy. I am done with Parasitology for the whole term and I had the midterm examination for Genetics. I was expecting a lot of risk calculation questions for Genetics, but unfortunately, she made the exam mostly on semantics - my weakness. So who knows how many words I memorized. All the conceptual questions were alright. It was the first time I had to use all 2 hours in a medical exam. Parasit was straight-up memorization, but I knew that so I was fine.

Anyways, a sigh of relief, but also a sigh of disappointment b/c I feel I could have done better. Though it's not over until the fat lady sings.

After the exam, I just went straight into my room to get my phone and then I was confused as what to do today since there are no classes and nothing else to study for. It's a unique feeling b/c when you're used to studying and you suddenly stop, there's a feeling of emptiness.

Week 3 over

I forgot to update. Yes, it's been a great week. The classes are fine still. The material is all stuff that I learned in the FTM (foundations to medicine) before I even started real med school. Furthermore, it's my favorite courses - Physiology and Neuroscience. The teaching style is similar to engineering in both and the material overlaps tremendously. For physio, I just have to sit back, relax, and listen as it is just a story. For neuro, I just have to do some math (yay). Genetics and Parasitology require a bit more work since it involves lots of memorization, but it's all-do-able.

I have volunteered to become an Anatomy 'demonstrator' to help Term 1 students in the Anatomy lab every Fri from 8-10 pm. Last Fri was my first shift. Yes, I do get paid - it's only 10 ec per hour, but that means 20 ec every time I do it, which is equivalent to one free meal. It was great, I have access to all the course materials that Term 1 students have. I basically read 2 weeks of their material (~9 lectures)+lab videos in 3 hours after my class on Fri. Then, I even finished my own lectures that I had on Fri. By the time, it was 8 pm, I was already ready to go to the lab. I wasn't expecting many students during 8-10 pm, on a Fri, especially when it's only end of Week 2, but there were many. I helped a lot of students.

It's a lot better than joining clubs in my opinion as it forces me to review anatomy from 1st Term, which will be on my board exams. It also gives me an opportunity to refine my lab skills, which when I do clinical rotations, is going to be of prime importance.

I'm also working out 1-2 times per week now, which I think is reasonable.

Week 2 over

The 2nd week is over. Nothing has really changed. Still the same courses: Genetics, Neuroscience, and Physiology. I am still enjoying my on-campus living. I am able to cook breakfast and dinner everyday. Here are some of the things I've cooked:

Vegetarian Penne Pasta

Egg & Cheese Sandwich

I also volunteered to help with Anatomy dissections once a week. This way I can keep up with what I learned.

Term 2 begins!

I didn't have time to update the blog. My vacation was awesome. I came back to Grenada on Jan. 11th night. It was a 20+ hours trip, but after I landed, I still had work to do. I have officially moved on-campus now and the room is great! Single room with kitchenette right behind charter hall - it doesn't get any better than this. All my classes are in charter hall, I literally can reach my classroom from my house in 1 min. walking. The view from my window is great too. Only sad part about all of this is - some of my pots and pans were missing when transferring from my off-campus house to my on-campus house. It seems somebody just went into my room and took them.

Class started on Jan. 10th, I was 2 days behind. It's Saturday now though and I'm fully caught up with everything. I'm doing the same routine - making my own notes for every lecture. I have 3 courses right now - Genetics, Physiology, and Neuroscience. Genetics is just like biochem from last term. Physiology is the closest thing to engineering I'll ever get and will probably be my favorite course. Even missing the whole week, I could still teach the course. Neuroscience is also an awesome course and is similar to anatomy from last term.

This term is a lot better than term 1. All the classes end before lunch time and the best part is I don't have to commute, which means I might actually start liking Grenada. I can now study as much as I want in the library and eat conveniently.